In front of almost 10,000 raucous fans at the Galen Center, the women’s basketball team fell to the Trojans 62-55 on Saturday.
The game was a defensive battle with the outcome up in the air until the final minute.
UCLA (13-13, 7-7 Pac-10) jumped out to an early lead in the beginning of the game, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on fast-break opportunities.
The Bruins played up-tempo and forced the issue on offense, getting the ball to junior forward Lindsey Pluimer, who put up 12 points in the first half.
The matchup had all the makings of a shootout, but then the firepower stopped for both teams.
In the final 5:51 of the first half, UCLA did not score but still managed to take a 29-28 lead into the break.
In her last game against the rival Women of Troy (15-9, 9-5 Pac-10), senior guard Noelle Quinn took control of the Bruin offense in the second half after only posting four points in the first 20 minutes of play.
Though drawing double-teams, Quinn put up 14 points after the break on 7-of-15 shooting, making up somewhat for the Bruins’ zero offensive productivity from the bench.
The whole second half USC tried to pull away but the Bruins refused to fall far behind.
The Women of Troy never led by more than four points until the final seconds, but the Bruins could not put enough consecutive defensive stops together to take a significant lead.
In what would eventually decide the game, UCLA’s offense was completely shut down in the final 5:30 and did not score from the field.
“They did a great job of disrupting us,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “Down the stretch they did a good job of keying in on Noelle (Quinn). Every time she caught the ball, she was swarmed. … We didn’t have other people step up.”
UCLA received zero points and two rebounds in a combined 36-plus minutes from the bench players.
The Bruins shut down USC’s star guard Eshaya Murphy, who shot 2-of-16 for 11 points, but USC’s offensive depth is what hurt UCLA.
“We did a great job of taking Shay out of doing what she wants to do,” Olivier said. “‘SC ““ they come out with a W because they had a little more balance and more weapons out there.”
The Bruins, who wanted the game in Quinn’s hands in the final seconds, were forced to look at other options as she was continuously double- and triple-teamed as soon as she got the ball.
“I’m a team player so I’m not just going to force anything,” Quinn said. “They did a great job at the end on me, face-guarding and starting to press to get the ball out of my hands right away.”
After the game, both coaches paid the other team compliments and acknowledged the electric atmosphere in USC’s first advance-sellout for a women’s game in school history.
“It was a really great event for basketball in Southern California,” USC coach Mark Trakh said.
“We’ve got exciting teams and I think it’ll be competitive in the future. The interest in it is really there.”
GAME NOTES: USC’s victory was their fifth straight in the rivalry … Quinn’s 18 points led all players … The two teams shot a combined 26-43 from the free throw line … After the game, Murphy grabbed a microphone and urged the fans to come back to the Galen Center next week when they play the Arizona schools.